Selinsgrove resident murdered in state prison
Jul. 10—A state prison inmate has been charged with the murder of another inmate previously found guilty of homicide in Northumberland County, and one correction officer is also charged in the death.
Edgar Gearhart, 24, of Selinsgrove, was serving a 10- to 20-year sentence for a deadly 2015 stabbing in Sunbury when he was found unresponsive in his cell on Jan. 28 at SCI-Dallas.
SCI-Dallas Superintendent Kevin Ransom said officials found Gearhart unresponsive in his cell and an investigation into the incident began back in January.
On July 7, Nafese Pierce, 25, an inmate, was charged by state police with criminal homicide, while Osmel Martinez, 25, a corrections officer from Kingston, was charged with misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter and lying to law enforcement.
According to court documents, Gearhart and Pierce got in an argument over the use of phones and Pierce told Martinez he was going to fight Gearhart, police said.
Gearhart and Pierce argued and police say Pierce was seen striking Gearhart in the neck and shoulder. Gearhart's cell door then closed and later he was discovered laying on the ground, police said.
Pierce told Martinez he "stuck him" and the two laughed, according to police.
Police allege witnesses told Martinez that Gearhart was on the ground and needed assistance, but Martinez responded, "let the next shift deal with it," according to court documents.
Gearhart was sentenced in 2016 in Northumberland County Court after pleading no contest to third-degree murder after a 2015 incident. Gearhart was 19 at the time of his arrest for the Sunbury stabbing.
President Judge Charles Saylor sentenced Gearhart on a third-degree murder charge and a simple assault charge. Sunbury Police said Gearhart stabbed Robert "Knowledge" Blake, 46, of Sunbury, on Masser Street between Fifth and Sixth streets, a short distance from Blake's home, on March 18, 2015.
